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The Meridia Conspiracy Theory?

November 5th, 2010. By janem

If I were a conspiracy theorist, I’d say the FDA and Abbott Labs, the maker of Meridia, are in cahoots together. If that were the case, it would explain away the reason why the FDA approved the diet-suppressant drug soon after it declared Fen-Phen—an older cousin—unsafe, back in 1997. It would also explain how Abbott was able to market Meridia just two months after Fen-Phen was taken off the market.

Stay with me here… imagine the FDA getting kickbacks from drug companies for keeping their dangerous drugs on the market (Meridia lived for 14 years and that rings cha-ching). I’ll go out on a limb and take this one step further: Fen-Phen was typically taken by obese people for weight loss, and obese people often wind up with diabetes. Still here? Good. Diabetes is the biggest economic drain on the health system so wouldn’t it be easier just to kill obese people via heart attacks and strokes with drugs like Meridia and Fen-Phen before they become diabetic and a drain to the economy?

Here are the facts on diabetes: The American Journal of Public Health said that diabetes is a monumental drain on US Resources. The US has the largest number of diabetics (16 million) of all the developed countries and people with diabetes were responsible for 23 percent of US hospitals’ expenses in treating all conditions in 2008.

Although diabetes sufferers compose 8 percent of the US population, by 2008 they were responsible for 20 percent of US hospitalizations. It gets worse: those diabetes patients stayed longer in the hospital—5.3 days on average, as compared to 4.4 days for people without diabetes—and cost more—$10,937 on average, compared to $8,746. And we all know that when it comes to hospitalization, well, there’s no would-be money in that for the FDA–the money would be in prescription drugs.

OK, I’m getting carried away with the conspiracy theory. And in truth, if there were a conspiracy, hey, diabetics would surely be a necessary gravy train for potential kick-backs to the FDA—one need only look to the FDA’s handling of Avandia.

But really, what planet are you living on if you think that Meridia is safe? Or that it even works? Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Meridia
Posted in Drugs/Medical, Emerging Issues | 2 Comments »

New Off-Label Use for Botox: DUI Defense

October 25th, 2010. By janem

Barbie has trouble with breathalyzers, too!

No one expects to get caught drinking and driving, but as a precautionary measure you might want to consider getting Botox treatments, well maybe not… Anyway, it worked for a woman in Vancouver, BC who used the Botox defense during her trial on a charge of refusing to give a breath sample in provincial court.

Paddi Anne Moore, 51, was given four chances to blow into a breathalyzer the night she was pulled over. The equipment failed to record a sample because she couldn’t wrap her lips properly around the roadside device: apparently, the Botox had frozen her face. It didn’t stop Ms. Moore from talking though: she acknowledged to Cpl Fred Harding, the cop who pulled her over, that she had indeed been drinking alcohol that night. “If you can speak, you can inhale some kind of air from your mouth,” said Harding.

Judge Carol Ellan didn’t see eye to eye, or should I say, lip to lip, with Harding. She dismissed the charge against Moore, much to Harding’s chagrin.

“I’ve never seen anyone who had the gall to go into court and say Botox was their defence,” said Harding, who might want to consider a few rounds of Botox for another off-label use: headaches! He also said that the Botox defense could open up a new set of defenses for drunk drivers to beat the charge. “The absurdity is hard to fathom.”

I’ve gotta hand it to Ms. Moore—she did her homework before representing herself during the trial. She had her Mexican Botox doctor write a letter, which she handed to the judge in court. He wrote that, “the physical effects of Botox injections to the upper lip and mouth area is that the patient is unable to purse [her] lips or whistle… and it is not uncommon for someone to be unable to wrap their lips around a straw or wide circumference such as a breathalyzer blow apparatus” for up to six months.

Posted in Emerging Issues | No Comments »

Asbestos Residents in Denial?

October 21st, 2010. By janem

The bid to buy the Jeffrey Mine in Asbestos, Quebec is the talk of the town. Apparently the mine owners, who are faced with bankruptcy, are close to sealing the deal with some interested Indian financiers. Trouble is, will the deal seal the fate of countless asbestos workers in India?

Hugues Grimard , the mayor of Asbestos, was harping on about how its asbestos won’t be dangerous if it is used properly on the CBC radio this morning. By ‘properly’,  I guess he means you must wear full-on safety gear, including respirators. Maybe he should take a trip to India and pay for asbestos awareness education and the cost of kitting out asbestos workers in safety equipment. And while he’s at it, stamp a few warning signs on those cargo boxes exporting the deadly cargo to India. To date, Canada is not legally obliged to do so.

Organizations worldwide–including health experts in India–want asbestos banned! (Read Ban Asbestos Network of India (BANI) letter to Quebec’s Chief Minister)

A resident of Asbestos was also interviewed on the radio show. The last thing she wants is the mine shut down because it is her family’s livelihood. She described growing up in Asbestos and how people would sweep asbestos fibers from the streets, how the kids used to make asbestos snowballs from the fibers with their bare hands. “I’m 62 years old and perfectly healthy,” she said. “My husband has been working the mine for years and he’s still alive and kicking—and I mean kicking,” she laughed. But she won’t be laughing if asbestosis or mesothelioma rears their ugly heads a decade or so from now (latency period typically takes 20-30 years.) She also claimed that she knows no one who has died from asbestos disease.

Try telling that to thousands upon thousands of asbestos victims. By 1984, 154 people had been killed from asbestos in Ontario, Quebec’s next-door neighbor. And about 454 asbestos victims were collecting workers’ compensation at that time. They worked at the John Manville Plant in Toronto (the name was later changed to Manville Corporation when lawsuits started to pour in, and thereby saved themselves millions of dollars at the expense of former workers). What’s going on with the workers at the Jeffrey mine—are they in denial? Have they been paid to keep quiet? OK, I’m not going into a conspiracy theory now but it makes you wonder…

Amazingly, Asbestos, Quebec had scheduled the Canadian Cancer Society’s (CCS) “Relay for Life”, a fund raising event to take place within the town’s streets—where asbestos fibers were swept up decades ago. Not surprisingly it was cancelled, apparently as a result of political differences arising between the town’s and the Canadian Cancer Society’s positions on the production of asbestos.

Meanwhile citizens of Asbestos are pressuring Quebec’s Premier, Jean Charest, for loans that will keep the floundering asbestos mine open but the CCS is urging Quebec’s Premier to “let [the mine] die.”

“Our mandate is really public health,” says a spokesmen for the CCS, André Beaulieu, “and right now, obviously, the community’s looking from an economic point of view and we understand.” How polite. Isn’t it about time Canadians rallied together and stormed the mayor’s office, barricaded the Jeffrey Mine?

Check out these videos from the CBC archives–where do I sign up to stop the Jeffrey Mine from churning out any more asbestos?

Tags: Asbestos, Asbestos Mesothelioma, asbestos_mesothelioma
Posted in Emerging Issues | No Comments »

Wellbutrin Woes

October 13th, 2010. By janem

After experiencing severe Wellbutrin side effects, Simon says he “can’t leave the freakin’ house anymore,” and he is going to research every medicine before taking it. “I knew Wellbutrin was a big problem because I never shut myself away from my family before,” says Simon, who has suffered from bi-polar disorder all his life but believes that Wellbutrin made him worse. Fortunately, Simon realized “not to take everything your doctor tells you to take.”

“I took control of the situation because some doctors seem to dish out meds whether it helps you or not. Sure I have medical issues but they can get worse if you aren’t pro-active.”

WebMD has listed 55 side effects associated with Wellbutrin (!), including chest pains and anxiety—the latter two symptoms that Simon experienced.

It also instructs you to ” call your doctor at once if you have any new or worsening symptoms such as: mood or behavior changes, anxiety, panic attacks, trouble sleeping, or if you feel impulsive, irritable, agitated, hostile, aggressive, restless, hyperactive (mentally or physically), more depressed, or have thoughts about suicide or hurting yourself.” Trouble is, patients who are suffering from severe Wellbutrin side effects such as suicidal thoughts or anxiety are often too distressed or do not have the wherewithal to call their doctor. Luckily, Simon can function with his disorder, now that he is off Wellbutrin, and he is candid about it.

Simon says he had a lot of tragedies happen to him as a child, mostly sexual abuse. “I have big trust and anger issues  with people but lately I have been living with a friend, a clinical therapist, who has helped me work on a lot of issues and I’m finally opening up,” he explains.

Before taking Wellbutrin, Simon was doing great on lithium, ” but it caused my hands to sweat all the time, so my psychiatrist switched me to Wellbutrin, then I soon got chest pains and pain in my left arm. I didn’t like the way the med made me feel so my doctor lowered the dosage. But I barricaded myself into the house and being around people gave me anxiety attacks—for the first time ever.

I am positive that these symptoms were Wellbturin side effects because I was on no other med. I started off with 75mg per day and that is a high dosage.  My psychiatrist should know—does she even read up on the side effects? She never told me that Wellbutrin can cause people to commit suicide. I started spazzing out when I found out…

I took Wellbutrin for almost four years and complained to my doctor about these side effects just a few months after taking it.  All that time she just kept lowering the dosage but it didn’t work.”

Simon says that his doctor finally suggested he take another medication. But why did it take four years to switch meds? He is now taking Seroquel at night and another anti-depressant during the day.  He stopped taking Wellbutrin about 4 months ago and reports that his chest pains went away about one month later. But the anxiety attacks remain.

” I don’t work or socialize with my family. I can only socialize if I take a lot of meds, and who knows what side effects that will create…”

Regarding anxiety, the Wellbutrin maker says: “Like many of the antidepressants, bupropion [known as Wellbutrin, Zyban, Voxra, Budeprion, or Aplenzin; formerly known as amfebutamone] is associated with the potential risk for causing anxiety as a side effect. How common or severe this anxiety is remains to be fully discovered. Some studies show that it has similar anxiety side effects to the SSRI antidepressants, while others show an elevated risk for extreme anxiety.”  Simon says he was never aware of Wellbutrin ‘s link to anxiety. He is likely not alone in not knowing…

Tags: Wellbutrin
Posted in Emerging Issues | 4 Comments »

FRS Energy Drink All Smoke and Mirrors?

October 5th, 2010. By janem

Before you spend money on a FRS energy drink, consider reading the label’s list of ingredients. Sure, the good stuff is included, but so are sugars. And that amount doesn’t bode well with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) guidelines.

Let’s start with the FRS label. If you’ve consumed one FRS energy drink, you’ve almost had your quota of sugar (One 11.5 oz can contains 19 grams) for the day. The USDA recommends the following:

1,600 calories – Limit sugar to 6 teaspoons per day or 22 grams per day
2,200 calories – Limit sugar to 12 teaspoons per day or 44 grams per day
2,800 calories – Limit sugar to 18 teaspoons per day or 66 grams per day

FRS also contains caffeine—but the label doesn’t say how much. Interestingly, the label shows vitamin percent daily values based on a 2,000 calorie diet, but neglects to add the percentage information regarding sugar or Quercetin. So is it all smoke and mirrors?

According to the Mayo Clinic, quercetin and other antioxidants that are contained in FRS energy drinks are considered healthy, but studies have shown that the most benefits come from eating or drinking them in foods or beverages where they occur naturally, such as apple skins, red onions and berries, rather than taking supplements. Furthermore, taking large quantities of antioxidants can cause health problems, so it may not be a good idea to consume more than the recommended daily allowances. And the jury is still out on the recommended daily Quercetin allowance, which is why FRS states on its label that Quercetin’s “Daily Value not Established”.

The people at FRS claim their product is a healthier alternative to traditional energy drinks (such as Red Bull or Monster) because it contains antioxidants rather than relying on large amounts of sugar and caffeine to boost the energy levels those who drink it.

Well that may be true, but comparing any energy drink to Red Bull can make just about any product look healthy. Their claim doesn’t mean that energy drinks are healthy. If Red Bull or Monster were healthy, that would be another story. Or if FRS claims it was a healthier alternative to, say, eating an apple and a banana, it might have something worthwhile to promote. That is based on the assumption that the FRS energy drink isn’t falsely advertised.

FRS Spokesperson Lance Armstrong

It’s hard to believe that Lance Armstrong, FRS poster boy, would be associated with any false advertising. Or is it? FRS, is a savvy multi-million dollar company with Pepsi-cola backing and knows how gullible the public can be when it comes to having sports heroes promote their product. Case in point: Coach Levi, who seems to have fallen hook, line and sinker for Lance Armstrong’s promo ads.

” It turns out that this energy drink is endorsed by none other than Lance Armstrong!,” says coach Levi. “Apparently Lance scrutinized the science behind this energy drink and deemed it worthy of consumption. He’s even sitting on the Board of Directors for the company now, so he must really believe in this stuff.”

Sorry to break the news to you Coach, but your hero not only sits on the board–he is also an investor in FRS. That means he is getting paid to say good things about FRS. But coach, enjoy the scam while you can. (By the way, I sat through your video, demonstrating how to make a drink from FRS concentrate or powder, and it’s about as exciting as watching cheese ripen—hope FRS paid you well.) And sorry to really break your bubble, but according to Zeta Interactive, a marketing firm that tracks online sentiments, Mr. Armstrong’s golden boy image is in jeopardy.

Recently, prosecutors subpoenaed documents from a 2004 case in which a Texas company with business ties to Armstrong tried to prove he used drugs in order to avoid paying him a performance bonus. The Lance Armstrong Foundation has not been accused of wrongdoing, but it is so closely linked with Armstrong it could be hurt.

Meanwhile FRS is expanding its commitment to Armstrong and the foundation and plans to feature the FRS investor and board member in national television ads this October. FRS also recently agreed to support the foundation for at least three more years.

“Anyone or anything associated with Lance Armstrong should be very worried right now,” Zeta Interactive CEO Al DiGuido said. “He has faced these kinds of allegations before, but the fuel really seems to be kicking in this time.”

And here are some last words of advice from Jock Joose:

” I can’t believe athletes such as Lance Armstrong actually promote this stuff.   It’s a total scam.  Offering a sub par supplement and praying on people in a bad economy.  I now hate Lance because of this as well.    This is a warning to anyone who is considering getting the free trial  – DON’T DO IT.”

Tags: FRS Energy Drink
Posted in Emerging Issues | 14 Comments »